The South East Applied Materials Research Centre (SEAM) at WIT will lead the programme, working with Boston Scientific, a leading medical device multinational; Schivo, an indigenous precision engineering company; and Lisnabrin Engineering, a tool manufacturing County Enterprise Board company.

Metal 3D Printing Additive Manufacturing is an emerging technology that is forecasted to revolutionise the factories of the future. The innovative Metal 3D Printing programme will research metal laser sintering technologies to develop components who’s geometry is sufficiently complex that they do not lend themselves to conventional machining.

Speaking at the launch, Dr Ramesh Raghavendra, Centre Manager of SEAM and Principal Investigator (PI) for this multi-party project said, “The new technology we are developing as part of this challenging project offers enormous potential to manufacturing industries in Ireland as it allows streamlining of the manufacturing process by removing multiple process steps, reducing materials handling and the number of components in an assembly, as well as enabling rapid prototyping of functional metal components.

“We are delighted to work with three diverse companies, each of which should gain greatly from the project. The project will also to set an example for enhancing Business to Business and academia to industry collaborations in Ireland.”

The project, which is part funded by Enterprise Ireland under its Innovation Partnership Programme (IPP), will run for two and half years with engineering staff from the three companies working alongside researchers from SEAM in a new space adjacent to the existing SEAM laboratories at WIT.

“Boston Scientific is proud to be involved in the first multi-company initiative involving metal additive manufacturing, focusing on med tech and industrial applications in collaboration with SEAM (WIT),” said Paudie O’Connor, Vice President, Operations, Boston Scientific. “We believe this will help drive development of new products and efficiencies in our current products.”

Seamus Kilgannon, Owner and CEO of Schivo stated that “metal additive manufacturing is a new frontier within manufacturing. It will drive change through established manufacturing procedures, enabling the development of new applications and processes across a range of industry sectors. These changes will increase efficiencies in development and manufacturing processes, whilst enhancing manufacturing options and capabilities. Schivo is excited at the opportunities the collaboration with SEAM at WIT and the other industry partners presents as it will enable us to enhance significantly our technological business positioning and affords SEAM the opportunity to become a leading research and academic centre in this technology.”

“We are delighted to be involved in such a technologically ground breaking project,” said Steve Martin, Director at Lisnabrin Engineering. “We see this as a great opportunity to get a head start in this field and significantlygrow our business in an ever changing market place.”

According to Declan Lyons, Enterprise Ireland, “This latest collaboration between WIT and multi-party industries further underlines the Institute’s commitment to help stimulate economic growth and enhance technical expertise in the South-East region.” He continues, “The SEAM research centre focuses on industry needs in particular, and is of significant importance to the development of and investment in the region.”

See www.seam.ie for more information about the SEAM research centre and the work with Schivo on the REALISM project.

Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) has struck a €1.1m deal to lead a programme developing metal 3D printing using lasers capable of achieving far more complex designs than traditional manufacturing.

The programme aims to bring a considerable change to the way manufacturing industries operate in Ireland through a process known as metal laser sintering. This technology uses a process whereby high-powered lasers are aimed at powdered metal, causing a huge build-up of heat that binds it together to form a solid structure. The process is considered important because of the technology’s complexity and ability to form structures that no traditional manufacturing processes are capable of achieving. The project will run for two and a half years, with engineering staff from the three companies working alongside researchers from SEAM in a new space adjacent to the existing SEAM laboratories at WIT. Speaking at the launch, Dr Ramesh Raghavendra, centre manager of SEAM and lead on the project, said, “The new technology we are developing as part of this challenging project offers enormous potential to manufacturing industries in Ireland, as it allows streamlining of the manufacturing process by removing multiple process steps, reducing materials handling and the number of components in an assembly, as well as enabling rapid prototyping of functional metal components.”

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/

Nypro Healthcare comment on their successful collaborations with SEAM

This video demonstrates the Technology Gateway Network in action with footage from the 2014 Technology Gateway Industry Showcase. The video has an interview with Minster Damien English Minister of State for Skills, Research & Innovation and testimonials from Openet Telecoms, Nypro Healthcare and eDriveGroup on their successful collaborations with a Gateway.

Technology Gateway Launch 2013

SEAM has become one of Enterprise Irelands's Technology Gateway Centres supporting Industries from a wide range of sectors including Medical Devices, Precision Engineering, Pharmaceuticals, Micro-electronics and Energy Sectors.

SEAM participated and exhibited at MED in Ireland 2011 Event

You must install Adobe Flash to view this content.

PMBRC & SEAM Centres Awarded Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Funding

Two WIT research groups have been awarded joint funding under the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Technology Innovation Development Award (TIDA) to develop a long-acting drug delivery technology. The project, called PRIDE (Prolonged Release Injectable Device), will focus on developing drug formulations which will slowly release the target drug over a period of weeks and months. The project is a collaboration between the Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre (PMBRC), the South Eastern Applied Materials (SEAM) research centre (both at WIT) and a number of Waterford-based general practitioners.

Dr. Peter McLoughlin, Principal Investigator of the PMBRC and leader of the research team, explained the background to the project. “There are many chronic medical conditions where patients are on medication over prolonged periods of time. The effective treatment of these conditions is dependent on the patient consistently taking their medication as directed by their doctor – something which many fail to do for a variety of reasons. If a GP could administer a dose to the patient which would slowly release the drug over a period of weeks, or even months, it would greatly aid in the treatment of their illness. In collaboration with the GPs working on this project, we have identified one specific condition which is not adequately controlled with existing therapies which we plan to target”.

The project will focus on laboratory-based experimentation in the first instance and will not involve human subjects. However should the results of the initial phase be successful, further work to develop and commercialise the technology is planned. Two research scientists will be hired for the duration of the 12 month project. This is the first time that either the PMBRC or SEAM have been awarded SFI funding and is a major milestone in the development of the centres, building upon their existing research competencies in drug delivery and biomaterials.

SEAM Partners with Company Involved in Chilean Mine Rescue

'Research Matters' is Waterford Institute of Technology's research magazine, published bianually, it examines innovations, partnerships and collaborations within WIT.

Mincon, an indigenous Irish company, based in Shannon, Co. Clare. Mincon made headlines recently for their proud involvement in the 2010 Chilean miners’ rescue. Mincon’s hammer and drill bits (MX5053) was used to establish the initial life line to the thirty three miners trapped 2,300 feet below ground in the San José gold and copper mine outside Copiapo, Chile. Over the last four years Mincon has undertaken a million euro design project to develop superior drill heads for the drilling of geothermal heating wells in countries like Sweden. This is an extremely challenging drilling environment and sometimes, the failure of the drill head occurs. SEAM has established an Innovation Partnership, part-funded by Enterprise Ireland, which utilises SEAM's Finite Element Modelling (FEM) and metallurgical research capabilitys to investigate and overcome these failures.

SEAM Looks to Advance Precision Engineering Sector

‘Manufacturing Ireland’ looks at the progress being made by the Enterprise Ireland-funded SEAM centre, dedicated to advancing the area of precision engineering among others.

Ongoing industrial research in the area of precision engineering is vitally important for the continued development of the sector. In order to compete successful both at home and in global markets engaging in applied research is an important consideration for both indigenous and multinational companies. A dedicated facility to continuous research and development, SEAM located here at Waterford Institute of Technology, has been a success story in expanding opportunities in the precision engineering area.

SEAM microwave technology - a bridge betweenWIT research and industry

'Research Matters' is Waterford Institute of Technology's research magazine, published bianually, it examines innovations, partnerships and collaborations within WIT.

The beneficial use of microwaves for cooking food is well known. However, the same principle is increasingly being applied to the processing of a wide variety of materials including polymers, composites, rubber, ceramics, chemicals, minerals and wastes. The interest in microwave heating arises from key characteristics that are not available with conventional electrical and gas fired heating routes. Whether to reduce the curing times of thermosetting polymers, to initiate chemical reaction s through selective heating or to acquire a faster densification rate in ceramic processing, microwaves exhibit significant innovative potential that is waiting to be exploited. To exploit the beneficial use of microwaves, SEAM has procured a state of the art, one cubic metre cavity microwave furnace to carry out research for various materials processing and waste remediation applications.